For Elizabeth and Amy Dale, with love and fond memories of our Canadian adventures searching for scary bears! And for Louise Bolongaro, with many thanks for her wonderful vision and guidance. E.D. For my real-life Daddy Bear – John Nigel. P.M.
First published in 2016 by Nosy Crow Ltd The Crow’s Nest, 10a Lant Street London SE1 1QR www.nosycrow.com ISBN 978 0 85763 646 1 (HB) ISBN 978 0 85763 647 8 (PB) Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd. Text copyright © Elizabeth Dale 2016 Illustrations copyright © Paula Metcalf 2016 The right of Elizabeth Dale to be identified as the author and of Paula Metcalf to be identified as the illustrator of this work has been asserted. All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed in China by Imago. Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests. 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 (HB) 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 (PB)
Deep, deep in the woods, with the moon shining bright, Some bears snuggled up in their beds for the night.
There was Mummy Bear, Daddy Bear . . .
Grace and then Ben . . .
And Baby Bear, too, who lay dreaming,
but then . . .
As Baby Bear wriggled and stretched out a paw, He suddenly woke when he heard a loud . . .
. . . roar! “Help!” Baby cried. “There’s a monster about! He’s coming to get me – I just heard him shout.” “Don’t worry,” said Mummy Bear, stroking his head. “There aren’t any monsters. Let’s go back to bed.” But Baby Bear sniff led, “How can you be sure? I can’t sleep until I know what made that roar!”